Alaine S. Williams
An authority on public employee labor law, Alaine S. Williams has been a partner with Willig, Williams & Davidson since 1986. Alaine focuses her practice on labor and employment law, representing public sector labor unions and protecting the rights of workers.
Alaine’s efforts have included drafting and defending Pennsylvania legislation on behalf of public sector labor unions to require all nonmembers in a bargaining unit to pay fair share fees for benefits negotiated on their behalf, thereby enhancing the economic and political power of public sector unions in Pennsylvania. The legislation ultimately resulted in increased wages, benefits and job security for countless employees throughout the commonwealth.
Alaine successfully represented 150 disabled state employees who faced termination from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, enjoining the furlough sought by the Commonwealth and saving the employees’ jobs. Other notable achievements include expanding the value and worth of interest arbitration awards for correction officers and court employees in Pennsylvania; filing numerous lawsuits to secure payment for public employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act when legislative bodies have failed to enact budgets, and representing 1,000 University of Pennsylvania graduate students who chose to unionize following the historic National Labor Relations Board decision, issued in 2000, involving graduate students at New York University.
In addition to serving as an advocate for Pennsylvania workers and unions, Alaine is a frequent lecturer and has authored articles addressing employee rights, constitutional matters and race and gender discrimination. She is a former Assistant Director of the Florida Commission on Human Relations, where she administered an anti-discrimination program for the State of Florida. Alaine also lived in Kabul, Afghanistan, where she taught a course on the American legal system to Afghan judges and lawyers.
Alaine has been consistently selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of Employment and Labor Law (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.) since 1999. Since 2004, Alaine has also been consistently named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer® by Thomson Reuters, published annually in Philadelphia magazine.
Alaine is AV® rated by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell® a registered certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.
Prior to achieving her LL.M. at Columbia University, Alaine received her J.D. from Florida State University where she served as the editor of Law Review and received the Tubbs MD/JD Memorial Award for Commitment to Public Service. Education - Columbia University, LL.M., Cum Laude, 1980
- Florida State University, J.D., Cum Laude, 1979
- University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, B.F.A., Cum Laude, 1971
Experience - Willig, Williams & Davidson, Associate, 1980-1985; Partner, 1986-Present
- Florida Constitution Revision Commission, Law Clerk, 1977-1978
- U.S. Information Services, Kabul, Afghanistan, Teacher, 1974-1975
- Florida Commission on Human Relations, Assistant Director, 1972-1974
Court Admissions - Supreme Court of Florida, 1979
- Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1980
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1980
- Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1981
- United States District Court of New Jersey, 1981
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1981
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 1992
Professional Affiliations - American Bar Association, Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness, 2001-2003
- AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee Board of Directors, 2000-2005
- Chair, Philadelphia Bar Association Labor Law Committee, 1986
- Current Member: American, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia bar associations
- Investigator, Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission, 2003
Honors - Best Lawyers in America, 1999-2012
- Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, Philadelphia Magazine, 2004-2011
Publications - “Labor’s Response to Reproductive Hazards,” Johns Hopkins Associates in Environmental Health, 1984
- “Alternatives to the Right to Strike for Public Employees: Do They Adequately Implement Florida’s Constitutional Right to Collectively Bargain,” Florida State University Law Review, 1979
- “A Summary and Background Analysis of the Proposed 1978 Constitutional Revisions,” Florida State University Law Review, 1978
Speaking Engagements - "Legal Cases Brought by Unions and Individuals Regarding Paternity/Maternity Leave and FMLA", Philadelphia, Pa., 2009
- “Labor Law,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, Pa., 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000
- “Public Sector Labor Law,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Harrisburg, Pa., 2007, 2005, 2001, 1995, 1988
- “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, Pa., 2006, 2004
- “Graduate Student Organizing after Brown, 342 NLRB No. 42,” ABA Developing Labor Law, Puerto Rico., 2005
- “Free Speech and Associational Rights,” ABA National Convention, Atlanta, GA., 2004
Articles & News - Pennsylvania Voters Beware You Will Not Be Allowed to Vote in the Presidential Election Unless You Have A Valid Photo I.D.
May, 2012 - Pennsylvania Courts Continue to Protect Post-Retirement Employee Benefits
March 12, 2012 - Willig, Williams & Davidson Gets Injunction to Stop Pension Changes
January 10, 2012 - Judge Halts Erie County Nursing Home Workers' Pension Changes
December 29, 2011 - Federal Judge Rejects City of Harrisburg's Bankruptcy Petition
December 6, 2011 - Labor and Employment Attorney Alaine Williams Comments on the Harrisburg Bankruptcy Petition in the Pennsylvania Law Weekly
December 6, 2011 - Nine Willig, Williams & Davidson Lawyers Included in U.S. News & World Report Best Lawyers in America 2012
September 13, 2011 - Nine Willig, Williams & Davidson Lawyers Named to 2011 List of
Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
May 24, 2011 - Eight Willig, Williams & Davidson Lawyers Included in U.S. News & World Report Best Lawyers in America 2011
March 3, 2011 - Willig, Williams & Davidson Partner and Labor Attorney Alaine Williams Discusses Harrisburg Compensation Matters
October 22, 2010
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